Sharing and synchronizing electronically stored files

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to architectures, methods and systems and structures that facilitate the sharing and synchronization of electronically stored files among and between cloud entities and a number of computers, systems, devices and/or users. One particular exemplary architectural aspect includes the concurrent determination of file system changes within a cloud file system and a client file system, the serial ordering of necessary file system operations in response to the determined file system changes, and the concurrent execution of file system operations such that the cloud file system and the client computer file system are synchronized.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The following U.S. patent applications are filed on even date herewith,are assigned to the same assignee, and contain subject matter related,in certain respects, to the subject matter of the present application.These patent applications are incorporated by reference herein.

Ser. No. 13/453,678, filed Apr. 23, 2012;

Ser. No. 13/453,860, filed Apr. 23, 2012;

Ser. No. 13/453,799, filed Apr. 23, 2012; and

Ser. No. 13/453,748, filed Apr. 23, 2012.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to the sharing and synchronization ofelectronically stored files among and between Cloud entities, servercomputers, desktop computers, personal computers, portable computers,mobile computers, web-enabled computers and other computers includingtablet computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and smartphones.

BACKGROUND

The networked and mobile computing environment that defines much ofcontemporary society has provided innumerable convenience andproductivity benefits. Notwithstanding the benefits, it has becomeincreasingly difficult to manage electronically stored files that maysimultaneously reside on numerous computers, systems and devices. Forexample, keeping track of and accessing a most current version orrevision of an electronically stored file which may be stored on oracross one or more office computers, laptop computers, home computers,mobile computers and removable disks is oftentimes difficult for eventhe most sophisticated user. Compounding this difficulty is the factthat such an electronically stored file may be globally accessed, andused or changed by a number of different users, oftentimessimultaneously.

SUMMARY

Briefly, aspects of the present disclosure are directed toarchitectures, methods, systems and structures that facilitate thesharing and synchronization of electronically stored files among andbetween Cloud entities and a number of computers, systems, devicesand/or users.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, electronically storedfiles are initially generated within Cloud entities and are subsequentlyreplicated and synchronized with one or more client computing systems.Similarly, electronically stored files that are generated within clientcomputing systems are subsequently replicated and synchronized withCloud entities and other client computing systems.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a client determinationis made during a synchronization operation whether or not todownload/copy a file electronically stored in the Cloud to the client.If the file is of a particular type of file, then it is notdownloaded/copied to the client. Instead, a file is created locally atthe client comprising a link to the file electronically stored in theCloud. Advantageously, the local electronically stored file may be madea type indicative of its Cloud origination. Of further advantage, thelocal file may be used to invoke a browser to access the fileelectronically stored in the cloud which may further utilize cloudcomputing services to access the file.

Advantageously and according to another aspect of the presentdisclosure, such sharing and synchronization is user administrablethereby permitting the formation of sharing and synchronization groupsand/or systems.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure client computingsystems include a Local WATCHER and a Cloud WATCHER which concurrentlymonitor and detect changes to watched Local File Systems and Cloud FileSystems respectively. Detected changes are used to generate work itemsthat are ordered and selectively sent to a number of WORKERS forconcurrent processing.

According to one aspect of the present disclosure electronically storedfiles placed into a shared folder are automatically shared andsynchronized with any authorized users of that shared folder.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure electronicallystored files placed into a shared folder are automatically stored withina Cloud Storage System.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure electronicallystored files placed into a shared folder automatically “follow” a useronline and offline across multiple systems, devices and the Net. Anychanges made to an electronically stored files placed into the sharedfolder are automatically updated and synchronized to the Cloud and othercomputers and devices.

This SUMMARY is provided to briefly identify some aspects of the presentdisclosure that are further described below in the DESCRIPTION. ThisSUMMARY is not intended to identify key or essential features of thepresent disclosure nor is it intended to limit the scope of any claims.

The term “aspects” is to be read as “at least one aspect”. The aspectsdescribed above and other aspects of the present disclosure describedherein are illustrated by way of example(s) and not limited in theaccompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

A more complete understanding of the present disclosure may be realizedby reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is schematic diagram depicting an exemplary arrangement forsharing and synchronizing electronically stored files according to anaspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram depicting another exemplary arrangementfor sharing and synchronizing electronically stored files according toanother aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram depicting yet another exemplaryarchitecture for sharing and synchronizing electronically stored filesaccording to an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 3a-3c are schematic diagrams depicting exemplary drag-and-dropoperations and synchronization status of electronically stored filesaccording to an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4a is a schematic diagram depicting exemplary functional operationof a SyncCLIENT according to an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4b is a schematic diagram depicting an exemplary sequence of eventswhen a document is originated in the Cloud and then propagated to aSyncCLIENT according to an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4c is a schematic diagram depicting an exemplary sequence of eventswhen a document is originated via third-party application andsubsequently shared/synchronized with SyncCLIENT as a link to Cloud orCloud Site;

FIG. 4d is a schematic diagram depicting exemplary mappings betweenSyncCLIENT and the Cloud according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4e is a schematic diagram depicting an exemplary synchronizationbetween SyncCLIENT and the Cloud according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 4f is a schematic diagram depicting an additional exemplarysynchronization between SyncCLIENT and the Cloud according to an aspectof the present disclosure;

FIG. 4g is a schematic diagram depicting an exemplary synchronization ofa single file associated with multiple folders in the Cloud with aSyncCLIENT;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram depicting an exemplary architectureof a SyncCLIENT according to an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5a is a schematic block diagram depicting an exemplary overviewoperation of EVENT AGGREGATOR according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5b is a schematic block diagram depicting an exemplary operation ofEVENT AGGREGATOR according to an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5c is a flow diagram depicting an exemplary operational overview ofthe EVENT AGGREGATOR according to an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic block diagram depicting Cloud WATCHER and LocalWATCHER (Type-2) detecting changes to Cloud FileSystem and LocalFileSystem respectively through the use of graphs according to an aspectof the present disclosure;

FIG. 6a is a schematic block diagram depicting Cloud WATCHER determininga current Cloud state from a Change LOG received from Cloud bySyncCLIENT according to an aspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram depicting the processing of workitems by FETCHER and subsequent operations by WORKERS according to anaspect of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram depicting the serialization ofRegular Work Items within FETCHER;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram depicting a representative computer systemfor implementing exemplary methods and systems for sharing andsynchronizing electronically stored files according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure.

The illustrative embodiments are described more fully by the Figures anddetailed description. The inventions may, however, be embodied invarious forms and are not limited to specific embodiments described inthe Figures and detailed description

DESCRIPTION

The following merely illustrates the principles of the disclosure. Itwill thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able todevise various arrangements which, although not explicitly described orshown herein, embody the principles of the disclosure and are includedwithin its spirit and scope.

Furthermore, all examples and conditional language recited herein areprincipally intended expressly to be only for pedagogical purposes toaid the reader in understanding the principles of the disclosure and theconcepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art, and areto be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recitedexamples and conditions.

Moreover, all statements herein reciting principles, aspects, andembodiments of the disclosure, as well as specific examples thereof, areintended to encompass both structural and functional equivalentsthereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include bothcurrently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in thefuture, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function,regardless of structure.

Thus, for example, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the artthat any block diagrams herein represent conceptual views ofillustrative circuitry embodying the principles of the disclosure.Similarly, it will be appreciated that any flow charts, flow diagrams,state transition diagrams, pseudo code, and the like represent variousprocesses which may be substantially represented in computer readablemedium and so executed by a computer or processor, whether or not suchcomputer or processor is explicitly shown.

The functions of the various elements shown in the Figures, includingany functional blocks labeled as “processors”, may be provided throughthe use of dedicated hardware as well as hardware capable of executingsoftware in association with appropriate software. When provided by aprocessor, the functions may be provided by a single dedicatedprocessor, by a single shared processor, or by a plurality of individualprocessors, some of which may be shared. Moreover, explicit use of theterm “processor” or “controller” should not be construed to referexclusively to hardware capable of executing software, and mayimplicitly include, without limitation, digital signal processor (DSP)hardware, network processor, application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), field programmable gate array (FPGA), read-only memory (ROM) forstoring software, random access memory (RAM), and non-volatile storage.Other hardware, conventional and/or custom, may also be included.

Software modules, or simply modules which are implied to be software,may be represented herein as any combination of flowchart elements orother elements indicating performance of process steps and/or textualdescription. Such modules may be executed by hardware that is expresslyor implicitly shown.

Unless otherwise explicitly specified herein, the drawings are not drawnto scale.

We now provide some non-limiting, illustrative examples that illustrateseveral operational aspects of various arrangements and alternativeembodiments of the present disclosure.

Generally, and as used herein, an electronically stored file is a typeof abstraction. It provides a convenient way of bundling a set of datainto identifiable units that in turn can be managed, stored, retrievedand operated upon by computer systems. With initial reference to FIG. 1,there is shown a schematic diagram depicting an exemplary arrangement100 for sharing and synchronizing electronically stored files accordingto an aspect of the present disclosure.

Depicted in FIG. 1 are a personal computer 110 and a “Cloud” 120 withwhich the personal computer 110 interacts via one or more knownnetworking technologies 125.

As will be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, a Cloud 120is a model of networked resources such as storage, computing andapplications. For example, Cloud computing generally refers to thedelivery of computing as a service whereby shared resources,applications, software, data and information are provided to computersand other devices as a service over a network such as the Internet.Similarly, Cloud storage generally refers to electronic storageresources (for example, electronic FileSystems) provided by the Cloud120 via a network.

Advantageously Cloud computing and/or Cloud storage may provideindividual users only those resources needed for a particular taskthereby eliminating payment for idle or unused resources. Of furtheradvantage, users may be provided access to any latest software andinfrastructure offering(s), thereby fostering compatibility andproductivity.

Finally, where the Internet is used for access to the Cloud 120, Cloudcomputing and/or Cloud storage generally provides users with access toCloud resources from anywhere that Internet access mechanisms areavailable.

Networking technologies 125 depicted in FIG. 1 may advantageouslyprovide Internet access to Cloud 120 either directly or via an internetservice provider. Representative networking technologies for Cloudaccess include, but are not limited to, dial-up, leased line, ISDN,optical, broadband, broadband over power lines, fiber to the home,DSL/ADSL/SDSL, WiFi, WiMax, Cable, Satellite, Mobile Phone, andT-carrier, among others. Known internetworking protocols, i.e., TCP/IPmay be used in conjunction with such technologies along with higherlevel protocols, i.e., HTTP to effect desirable communications withCloud 120 or other network resources.

Depicted further in FIG. 1, are a number of electronic folders 112, 114,116 that are resident in a storage system of personal computer 110. Aswill be readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, electronicfolders such as those depicted in FIG. 1 are a type of virtual containerin which groups of electronically stored files may be kept andorganized.

As may be further appreciated, a contemporary computer operating systemsuch as that which may execute on personal computer 110, i.e., Windows,OS/X, LINUX, etc., will generally include support for electronic filesystems that may contain many thousands of folders. Electronicallystored files may be conveniently organized by storing related files in acommon folder. A folder contained within another folder is called asubfolder.

As may be readily understood by those skilled in the art, the name“folder” presents an analogy to a file folder used in offices and isused in almost all contemporary operating systems' desktop environments.

Folders too are a type of abstraction which provide a convenient way ofbundling a set of electronically stored files into identifiable unitsthat in turn can be managed, stored, retrieved and operated upon bycomputer systems. Folders are often depicted by computing systems asicons that visually resemble physical file folders.

With these principles in place, we may now describe certain operationalaspects of sharing and synchronization of electronically stored filesaccording to an aspect of the present disclosure. More particularly, andas depicted in FIG. 1, personal computer 110 executes clientsynchronization and sharing program or set of services 115 which, forour purposes herein, we generally call “SyncCLIENT”.

Generally speaking, a client program executes on a particular computerand accesses one or more services made available by a complementaryserver program. The server program is oftentimes (but not always) onanother computer system in which case the client program accesses theservices by way of a network.

In the context of the present disclosure, SyncCLIENT 115, as depicted inFIG. 1, executes on personal computer 110 and interacts withcomplementary server services provided by Cloud 120 via networkingtechnologies 125. According to an aspect of the present disclosure, oneor more folders resident on personal computer 110 are automaticallyreplicated and synchronized with Cloud 120. As depicted in FIG. 1,folder 112 is replicated and synchronized with Cloud storage services130 which electronically store folder 112-a in a Cloud FileSystem.

As such, any additions/deletions/changes made to folder 112 on personalcomputer 110 executing SyncCLIENT 115 are reflected in folder 112-a inCloud storage 130. Advantageously, such operations result in anautomatic backup of any files or folders within folder 112 on personalcomputer 110 to the Cloud storage 120. Similarly, anyadditions/deletions/changes made to folder 112-a, or its contents inCloud 120 will be reflected in folder 112 or its contents in personalcomputer 110.

By way of further example and as noted previously, exemplary Cloud 120may advantageously provide computing services in addition to Cloudstorage services 130. For example, any of a number of applications,i.e., word processing, spreadsheet, presentation graphics, calendaring,personal management, etc, 135 may be provided by Cloud 120 and accessedvia a World Wide Web interface, for example, by computing device 150 orthe personal computer 110, i.e., using—for example—a Web Browser.Advantageously, computing device 150 may be a “scaled down” or “thinclient” device (or tablet device or Smartphone, etc.) to access to Cloudcomputing resources. As is known, such thin clients generally depend onother computers (i.e., Cloud computing) to fulfill their computationalrole.

When provided within the exemplary arrangement depicted in FIG. 1,computing device 150 provides, for example, the ability to utilize Cloudcomputing resources 135 to edit, for example, any editable documentswhich are stored within cloud storage 130 and folder 112-a. Such editingmay advantageously be made from any geographic location that computingdevice 150 may access Cloud 120 and its resources via networkingtechnologies 127. Consequently, a user may employ the computing device150 to create or edit or otherwise utilize Cloud computing resources 135to modify/create folders or files contained within folder 112-a.According to an aspect of the present disclosure, changes made to thefolder 112-a, or changes made to any files or folders contained thereinare automatically synchronized with folder 112 on personal computer 110.

Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that contemporarycomputer systems such as the personal computer 110 or other computingdevice 150 depicted in FIG. 1, may employ operating systems such asWINDOWS, OS/X, LINUX, or similar systems or derivatives thereof thatprovide one or more user interfaces that allow a user to convenientlyperform file system operations. More particularly, such user interfacesmay allow a user to operate on files using familiar drag-and-drop,clipboard, and command-line operations.

When file system operations are based on such drag-and-drop or otherfamiliar metaphors, users can conveniently select and copy, move,delete, etc, files, directories, (folders, etc) to another place in thefile system. Advantageously, such familiar user interfaces may be usedin conjunction with aspects of the present disclosure to, for example,move a file into folder 112 on personal computer 110 and then have itsynchronized with Cloud folder 112-a.

At this point, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that thepresent disclosure is not limited to file operations via userinterfaces. Operating system components, services, user applications,etc., may also perform file operations. Accordingly, changes made tofolder 112 or its contents by any of these mechanisms (i.e.,applications) may precipitate a synchronization to Cloud folder 112-a,as well.

As described in the context of this example depicted in FIG. 1,synchronization and sharing according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure permits the automatic, bi-directional, generation, backup,synchronization and sharing of files and folders between a personalcomputers 110, 150, and a Cloud 120.

Turning now to FIG. 2, there is shown another exemplary arrangement 200depicting electronic file sharing and synchronization according to anaspect of the present disclosure. Depicted in FIG. 2, are a number ofcomputing systems namely, computers 210, 250, and 260 which are labeledin FIG. 2 as “home”, “laptop” and “work” respectively. Each of thecomputers 210, 250 and 260 employ known network access technologies 225,226, and 227 such as those previously described to access Cloud 220 andin particular Cloud storage services 230 FileSystem.

Depicted in FIG. 2, each of the computers 210, 250 and 260 executes aninstance of SyncCLIENT 215, 256, and 267. According to an aspect of thepresent disclosure, one or more folders resident on home computer 210are automatically replicated and synchronized with Cloud storageservices 230 FileSystem through the effect of the executing SyncCLIENT215. In this example depicted in FIG. 2, folder 212 which is resident onhome computer 210 is replicated and synchronized with Cloud storageservices 230 FileSystem which electronically stores folder 212-a and itselectronic contents.

As previously noted with respect to this example depicted in FIG. 2,laptop computer 250 and work computer 260 are depicted as executinginstances of SyncCLIENT 256 and 267 respectively. Consequently andaccording to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, each of theexecuting instances of SyncCLIENT 256 and 267 may replicate andsynchronize folder 212 a locally, on computers 250 and 260 as folders212 b, and 212 c, respectively. As a result, folder 212 which isresident on home computer 210 is replicated and synchronized with folder212 a electronically stored by Cloud storage services 230 FileSystem aswell as folders 212 b and 212 c which are resident on laptop computer250 and work computer 260, respectively.

Accordingly, sharing and synchronization of electronically stored filesaccording to yet another aspect of the present disclosure permits a userto make create/modify electronically stored files on one computer (i.e.,files in folder 212 c on work computer 260) and have thosecreated/modified electronically stored files automaticallyreplicated/synchronized on other computers (i.e., home computer andlaptop computer 210, 250). As such, electronically stored fileseffectively “follow” a user from one computer to another without anyadditional user effort.

Notably, and as depicted in this FIG. 2, each of the computers depictedtherein include a number of folders that are notreplicated/synchronized/shared with the Cloud 220 or other computers.More particularly, home computer 210 is depicted as including folders214 and 216 which are not shared and/or synchronized. Similarly, laptopcomputer 250 is depicted as including folders 251 and 252 which are notshared and/or synchronized. Finally, work computer 260 is depicted asincluding folder 261 which is not shared and/or synchronized.

Advantageously, and according to an aspect of the present disclosure,the particular folders that are shared/synchronized through theoperation of SyncCLIENT with the Cloud 220 and/or other computingdevices and/or users is user administrable.

As previously noted, Cloud 220 may provide Cloud computing resources 235in addition to any Cloud storage resources 230. Consequently, a user mayalso create/modify electronically stored files through the effect ofcloud computing resources 235 accessed by, for example, a web browserexecuting on computing device, a tablet or other portable computingdevice (i.e., Smartphone) 270. With such operations a user mayadvantageously create/modify electronically stored files within folder212 a maintained within Cloud storage services 230 FileSystem and thosecreated/modified electronically stored files are replicated/synchronizedto folders 212, 212 b, 212 c resident on home computer 210, laptopcomputer 250 and work computer 260, respectively. In this manner,electronically stored files may be created in the Cloud 220, andreplicated/synchronized out to client computing devices, i.e., homecomputer 210, laptop computer 250, work computer 260, or other computingdevice 270, which may advantageously employ browser applications andtechnologies.

We note that we have used the term create to describe the generation ofelectronically stored files through the effect of cloud computingservices. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that our particularvocabulary as used herein is not intended to be limiting. For example,an electronically stored file may also be generated, or originated inthe Cloud through the effect of Cloud computing services. Similarly, anelectronically stored file may be converted or recognized by Cloudcomputing services as being operable upon by those Cloud computingservices. As such, these electronically stored files may be viewed asoriginated or generated or created as well for our purposes herein as weshall show and describe in somewhat greater detail.

Additionally, while we have so far described sharing and synchronizationof electronically stored files among a number of computers used by, forexample, a single person, the disclosure is not so limited.Advantageously, and according to another aspect of the presentdisclosure, synchronization and sharing of electronically stored filesis performed among and between a number of computers and users.

With reference now to FIG. 3, there is shown another exemplaryarrangement 300 depicting electronic file sharing and synchronizationaccording to an aspect of the present disclosure. Depicted in that FIG.3 are a number of computing systems namely personal computers 310, 350,and 360 that are used by different individual users and labeled in FIG.3 as “User 1”, “User 2”, and “User 3” respectively. Each of thecomputers depicted 310, 350 and 360 employ network access technologies325, 326, and 327 such as those previously described to access Cloud 320and in particular Cloud storage services 330 FileSystem.

Further depicted in FIG. 3, each of the User computers 310, 350 and 360executes an instance of SyncCLIENT software 315, 356, and 367.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, one or more foldersresident on any of the computers, for example computer 310 areautomatically replicated and synchronized with Cloud storage services330 FileSystem through the effect of the executing SyncCLIENT software315. In this example depicted in FIG. 3, folder 312 which is resident onUser 1 computer 310 is replicated and synchronized with Cloud storageservices 330 FileSystem which electronically stores folder 312-a.

As may be further observed in FIG. 3, User 2 computer 350 and User 3computer 360 are each depicted as executing instances of SyncCLIENTsoftware 356 and 367, respectively. Consequently and according to yetanother aspect of the present disclosure, each of the executinginstances of SyncCLIENT software 356 and 367 may replicate andsynchronize folder 312 a locally, on User 2 and User 3 computers 350 and360 as folders 312 b, and 312 c, respectively. As a result, folder 312which is resident on User 1 computer 310 is replicated and synchronizedwith folder 312 a stored in Cloud storage services 330 FileSystem aswell as folders 312 b and 312 c which are resident on User 2 computer350 and User 3 computer 360, respectively.

Accordingly, sharing and synchronization of electronically stored filesaccording to yet another aspect of the present disclosure permitsmultiple users to make create/modify electronically stored files on onecomputer (i.e., User 1 computer 310) and have those created/modifiedelectronically stored files automatically replicated/synchronized onother user's computers (i.e., User 2 computer and User 3 computer 350,360).

Still further, these or additional authorized users may access any Cloudcomputing services via web browser, for example, to create/modify anyelectronically stored files contained within folder 312 a stored inCloud storage services 320 FileSystem. Consequently, any changes made toelectronically stored files within folder 312 a are automaticallyreplicated and/or synchronized with folders on User computer systems310, 350, and 360.

To this point we have shown certain aspects of sharing andsynchronization of electronically stored files according to aspects ofthe present disclosure involving groups of users. Advantageously, andaccording to another aspect of the present disclosure, users may belongto multiple groups that share and synchronize electronically storedfiles.

With continued reference to FIG. 3, it is noted that User 1, User 2, andUser 3 (with added involvement of User 4) were depicted as sharing andsynchronizing electronically stored files associated with folder 312,namely folder(s) 312 a, 312 b, and 312 c, which reside in Cloud 320,computers 350, and 360, respectively. In addition, a sharing andsynchronization group including User 2 and User 3 is depicted in FIG. 3as well.

More particularly, while User 2 and User 3 are depicted as sharing andsynchronizing folder 352 which is shown as being resident on computer350 associated with User 2. That folder 352 is shared and synchronizedwith Cloud 320 as folder 352 a and computer 360 as folder 352 bassociated with User 3. Accordingly, User 2 and User 3 are depicted asbeing part of two different sharing and synchronization groups. Aspreviously noted, the inclusion of additional users and/or computers tosharing and synchronization groups such as those depicted isadvantageously user administrable.

By way of an operational example, FIGS. 3a-3c depict a drag-and-dropoperation and subsequent synchronization of electronically stored filesaccording to an aspect of the present disclosure. As those skilled inthe art will readily appreciate, a drag-and-drop operation is an actionwhereby a virtual object (such as an electronically stored file) is“grabbed” by graphical user interface mechanisms (i.e. mouse or touchsensitive screen) and dragged to a different location on onto/intoanother virtual object (such as a folder). As may be furtherappreciated, such an operation may be conveniently used to invoke manykinds of actions or to create various types of associations between twoabstract objects.

FIG. 3a depicts a pair of overlapping windows 390, 392 such as thosecommon to contemporary graphical user interfaces. Shown in window 392 isiconic representation of electronically stored file 393 entitled “LIFECYCLE OF THE ELEPHANT.” Similarly, window 390 includes iconicrepresentation of a local SyncDRIVE folder 391. According to an aspectof the present disclosure, electronically stored files placed into thelocal SyncDRIVE folder 391 will be automatically replicated andsynchronized with the Cloud (not specifically shown) and optionallyother SyncDRIVE clients (not specifically shown).

In the context of this example, a basic drag-and-drop sequence isaccomplished by: moving a pointer to the electronically stored file 393,“grabbing” the file 393 by pressing a mouse button or other selectionmechanism, “dragging” the file 393 to the SyncDRIVE folder 391, and“dropping” the file 393 by releasing the button or other selectionmechanism.

After performing such a drag-and-drop operation an examination of thecontents of the SyncDRIVE folder 391 as depicted in FIG. 3b shows thatcopy of electronically stored file being synchronized with Cloud asindicated by changed icon 394 which in this example is indicative of theelectronically stored file undergoing synchronization. Upon completionof the synchronization operation and as depicted in FIG. 3c , the iconassociated with the electronically stored file 395 is updated to furtherreflect that the electronically stored file is synchronized.

As may be further appreciated, the depiction of a synchronization statussuch as that shown may be performed by a variety of iconic or othermechanisms available in contemporary graphical user interfaces orcomputing systems. Examples include animated and/or audible mechanisms.Still further, while the example shown in FIGS. 3a-3c depict thesynchronization status associated with an exemplary SyncCLIENT andCloud, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that thisdisclosure is not so limited and further enhancements may depictinitial, intermediate, and subsequent downstream synchronizations aswell, for example with additional SyncCLIENT(s) that are part of a groupsuch as those previously described.

With these particular functional aspects of the present disclosureunderstood, we now reference FIG. 4a which depicts a simplifiedfunctional block diagram of an exemplary SyncCLIENT 410 according to anaspect of the present disclosure.

As depicted therein, SyncCLIENT 410 includes at least two functionalelements namely a Cloud WATCHER 440 and a Local WATCHER 430 which resultfrom the execution of SyncCLIENT software on a computing device.Briefly, the Local WATCHER 430 monitors and detects any changes to awatched local FileSystem 420 while the Cloud WATCHER 440 monitors anddetects any relevant changes within Cloud FileSystem 460 resident inCloud 450. When any changes are detected in either watched LocalFileSystem 420 or Cloud FileSystem 460, synchronization between the twosystems results. Advantageously, and according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure, in a preferred embodiment the Cloud WATCHER 440 andthe Local WATCHER 430 may operate concurrently or in parallel dependingupon the hardware environment in which they operate.

At this point it is useful to discuss a particular exemplarysynchronization according to an aspect of the present disclosure namely,the synchronization that takes place between Cloud and SyncCLIENT when adocument is originated in the Cloud. More particularly, a document isoriginated in the cloud through the use of Cloud Computing resources,electronically stored therein through the use of Cloud Storage Services,and finally synchronized with one or more SyncCLIENT(s).

With reference to FIG. 4b , there is shown a schematic diagram depictingthe exemplary origination/creation of a document within the Cloud by auser. As depicted therein, the document is originated/created via amobile device. As may be readily appreciated and as previously noted,any of a variety of known mobile devices may be suitable for interactingwith Cloud Computing Services to originate a document which may besubsequently stored in the Cloud via Cloud Storage Services. Familiardevices include mobile telephones, tablets and other portable computingdevices. Notably, this disclosure is not limited to mobile devices andsuch origination/creation of a document within the Cloud may employdesktop or other computing devices as well. In particular, any devicethat supports browser functionality may suffice for interacting with theexemplary Cloud Computing Services.

Additionally, while we have use the term document to describe theparticular electronic entity that is originated and stored within theCloud, the present disclosure is not so limited. More particularly, wordprocessing documents, spreadsheet documents, and graphics documents,among others, may advantageously be originated in the Cloud via CloudComputing Services according to this disclosure.

Accordingly, once a document is originated in the Cloud via CloudComputing Services, it is electronically stored therein via CloudStorage Services. In an exemplary embodiment, a document electronicallystored via Cloud Storage Services will have associated with it aresourceID which uniquely identifies the electronically stored file inthe Cloud Storage.

Once the document is electronically stored in the Cloud, it issubsequently synchronized/replicated with the SyncCLIENT. Notably, in apreferred embodiment the electronically stored file which originated viaCloud Computing Services is not physically (electronically)replicated/copied to the SyncCLIENT(s). Instead, and according toanother aspect of the present disclosure, electronically stored documentfiles which are originated in the Cloud via Cloud Computing Services andare subsequently stored therein, are subsequently synchronized with oneor more SyncCLIENT(s) as LINK(s) to the electronically stored documentfile in the Cloud.

In this manner the electronically stored document that originated in theCloud is advantageously not physically moved to the SyncCLIENT(s). ALINK to the document (file) is propagated to the SyncCLIENT(s), where itis stored in the SyncCLIENT(s) local file system as an electronicallystored file that comprises a LINK to the file in the Cloud. Of furtheradvantage, the electronically stored file that comprises the LINK to thefile in the Cloud may locally exhibit a type that is indicative of itsCloud storage. More particularly, such a locally stored file may be of atype “.gdoc”, or any other pre-determined type designation soindicative.

As such, an electronically stored file is created in the SyncCLIENT filesystem (in the watched file system) that may advantageously appear to auser as a regular document, or text or other file as appropriate.Instead of containing the electronic contents of the electronicallystored file as stored in the Cloud, the local electronic file contains aLINK to the Cloud file.

In a preferred embodiment, and as exemplary depicted in FIG. 4b , such aLINK may identify the resource (document), a means for locating theresource and any particular access mechanism(s). As shown in the exampleof FIG. 4b , the LINK may include components indicative of a UniformResource Locator (URL), protocol(s), i.e., HTTPS, Services (DOCS),resourceID, and TYPE. As those skilled in the art will appreciate,additional components may be included in the LINK as necessary. Whensuch a LINK is provided as shown, an invocation of a web browser mayadvantageously provide access to the file electronically stored in theCloud to a user of a SyncCLIENT—whether mobile or stationary andadvantageously not consume bandwidth unnecessarily.

While we have described the operations depicted in FIG. 4a and FIG. 4bas pertaining to those electronically stored files that originate in theCloud, we note once again that the teachings of the present disclosureare not so limited. More particularly, the present disclosure maylikewise pertain to those electronically stored files that originate ona SyncCLIENT and are subsequently synchronized/replicated to the Cloudas previously described.

More specifically, a user may originate an electronically stored file ona SyncCLIENT computer and subsequently have that electronically storedfile synchronized/replicated to the Cloud. Once it is electronicallystored in the Cloud, the electronically stored file may be convertedand/or modified (if necessary) to a format that may be convenientlyoperated on by one or more of the Cloud Computing Resource(s) and/orCloud applications. Thereafter, that converted, electronically storedfile may be synchronized with one or more SyncCLIENT(s) as a LINK to theelectronically stored file in the Cloud. Of course, those skilled in theart will appreciate that with certain electronic file formats (i.e.,text files, etc) conversion and/or modification is not necessary.Accordingly, when files exhibiting such formats are electronicallystored in the Cloud, they may be advantageously synchronized withSyncCLIENTs via the LINK mechanism(s) described previously andsubsequently accessed from the SyncCLIENTs as if they originated in theCloud.

Notably, a document or other object need not be generated via cloudcomputing services according to an aspect of the present disclosure.More particularly, and with reference now to FIG. 4c , there is shown aschematic sequence of events whereby a document is originated via athird-party application, stored in the Cloud via Cloud Services andsubsequently synchronized/replicated with a SyncCLIENT as a LINK to theobject in the CLOUD. Accordingly, the SyncCLIENT recognizes that thedocument object in the CLOUD need not be copied to the SyncCLIENT andinstead a LINK is generated to that object and stored locally as a filein the local file system of the SyncCLIENT. As before, the documentobject may be accessed from the SyncCLIENT (or other computing devicesto which the document has been synchronized) via a web browser—forexample. Still further, additional/alternative cloud sites may bereferenced in the LINK such that the document or other resources may beaccessed via that referenced cloud site as well.

At this point it is noteworthy that folders and files in the Cloud andfolders and files in a local file system may exhibit somewhat differentcharacteristics. With reference now to FIG. 4d , there is shown anexemplary Cloud file system and an exemplary SyncCLIENT file systemincluding a number of folders and files which will be used to describesome of these characteristics.

In particular, the exemplary Cloud file system depicted in FIG. 4dexhibits a “down-up” structure rather than a “top-down” structure of theclient file system that those skilled in the art will readily recognize.More specifically, this “down-up” structure exhibited by the Cloud filesystem results in multiple folders belonging to a single file.

As depicted in FIG. 4d , it may be observed that a single file, File A,as belonging to (or contained within) folder BAZ, that in turn belongsto both folders FOO and BAR. Accordingly, files electronically stored inthe Cloud may have multiple parent folders which in turn may havemultiple parent folders. In this regard, folders are analogous to labelsthat are applied to files.

Furthermore, as used in the Cloud, names of folders and/or files aregenerally not unique. Accordingly, names are more accurately viewed astitle attributes to files and folders. Consequently, and as notedelsewhere in this disclosure, files and folders in the Cloud have uniqueidentifiers, resource IDs (resourceID) which uniquely identify the fileor folder to which it is associated.

As may be appreciated, a local name of a file and/or folder may bedifferent from its name in the Cloud since there may be conflicts withother files/folders having the same name in the local file system. Suchconflicts may occur both among children and among parents. Accordingly,and in an exemplary embodiment and according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure, a mapping is made between a folder resourceID and its name(in the Cloud) and its local name as electronically stored on theSyncCLIENT.

An exemplary mapping between Cloud folders/file and local folders/fileis depicted in FIG. 4d . In an exemplary embodiment, such mapping may bemade through a FileMapping object which includes one or more LocalEntryobjects and a CloudEntry object. As shown in FIG. 4d , local folder FOOis mapped to Cloud folder FOO, local folder BAR is mapped to Cloudfolder BAR, two local folders BAZ are mapped to single Cloud folder BAZ,and both FILE A files are mapped to single Cloud file, FILE A.

FIG. 4e depicts an additional example of differences betweenfiles/folders as they are stored in the Cloud storage system and howthose differences affect sharing/synchronization according to aspects ofthe present disclosure. With reference to FIG. 4e , there is depicted ina Cloud file system a folder named FOO, having two child folders bothnamed BAR. Consequently, and according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure, when duplicate folders BAR are replicated/synchronized onthe local file system they are uniquely named using the creation date ofthe Cloud resource. As depicted in this example in FIG. 4e , one folderis named BAR in the local file system while the other is named BAR[XX/XX/XX] where XX/XX/XX is the date on which the Cloud resource ofthat folder was created.

FIG. 4f depicts an additional example of differences betweenfiles/folders as they are stored in the Cloud storage system and howthose differences affect sharing/synchronization according to aspects ofthe present disclosure. With reference to FIG. 4f , there is againdepicted in a Cloud file system a folder named FOO, having two childfolders both named BAR. Consequently, and according to an aspect of thepresent disclosure, when duplicate folders BAR arereplicated/synchronized on the local file system they are uniquely namedusing—in this example—an incremental counter. As depicted in thisexample in FIG. 4f , one folder is named BAR[n] in the local file systemwhile the other is named BAR [n+1]. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that a combination of this incremental counter method alongwith the creation date of the Cloud object described in the precedingparagraphs are contemplated by this disclosure.

Finally, and with reference now to FIG. 4g , there is shown a schematicdiagram depicting the synchronization of a single particular file, FileA, that is electronically stored in the Cloud file system and isassociated with (contained in) three separate folders namely, FOO, BAR,and BAZ. Notably, when this File A is synchronized/replicated with aSyncCLIENT and electronically stored in a local file system on thatclient, three individual folders namely, FOO, BAR, and BAZ are createdon the SyncCLIENT file system wherein each contain a separate copy ofthat replicated File A. Advantageously, when any of the three files aremodified locally, subsequent synchronization with the Cloud takes placewith the corresponding single File A that is resident in the Cloud filesystem.

Turning now to FIG. 5, there is shown a schematic block diagram 500 of aSyncCLIENT 510 that may illustratively perform the operations describedpreviously with respect to FIGS. 1-4. As depicted in FIG. 5, anillustrative SyncCLIENT includes Cloud WATCHER 540, Local WATCHER (i.e.,Type-2 WATCHER 530 or Type-1 WATCHER 535), EVENT AGGREGATOR 561, FETCHER580, WORKER(s) 590, SNAPSHOT 560, and BLACKLIST 570.

As noted previously, Cloud WATCHER 540 monitors and detects any relevantchanges to Cloud FileSystem 520 while Local WATCHER (530 or 535)monitors and detects any changes to watched Local FileSystem 515. Withrespect to the Cloud WATCHER 540, if any relevant changes to CloudFileSystem 520 are detected, FSChange notification(s) of those detectedchange(s) are sent to FETCHER 580. With respect to the Local WATCHER(530 or 535), if any Local FileSystem changes are detected, notificationis sent to EVENT AGGREGATOR 561.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the EVENT AGGREGATOR561 receives change notifications from the Local WATCHER (Type-1) 535 orfrom the Local WATCHER (Type-2) 530 as appropriate. In a preferredembodiment, the Local WATCHER (Type-1) 535 provides raw event file-levelchange notifications to the EVENT AGGREGATOR 561 while the Local WATCHER(Type-2) provides FSChange notifications to the EVENT AGGREGATOR 561.

While we will describe the operation of the EVENT AGGREGATOR 561 in moredetail later, we note that the EVENT AGGREGATOR 561 generally willreceive change notifications from the Local WATCHER and “hold” ontothose notifications for some period of time. If during the hold periodmultiple changes are made to any related item(s) the EVENT AGGREGATOR561 will advantageously combine or otherwise modify those changes intohigher-level, more coherent events which are then sent by the EVENTAGGREGATOR 561 to the FETCHER 580.

FSChange items sent by Cloud WATCHER 540 or EVENT AGGREGATOR 561 to theFETCHER 580 are received by the FETCHER 580 which then checks to see ifany of the received changes are included in the BLACKLIST 570. TheBLACKLIST 570 is a structure that lists those changes which have beenpreviously sent to WORKERS 590 but were not completed for one reason oranother. Accordingly, BLACKLIST 570 serves as a list of changes that arenot to be performed so long as those changes remain on the BLACKLIST570.

Conversely, changes received by the FETCHER 580 that are not included inthe BLACKLIST 570 are sent by the FETCHER 550 to the WORKER(s) 590 aswork items for subsequent processing. If a WORKER is unable to completea work item, an ERROR 597 is declared and a record of the ERROR is addedto the BLACKLIST 570. Conversely, when a WORKER completes a work item,any CHANGES that result are indicated in the SNAPSHOT 560 which, as wehave already noted, maintains the current synchronization state betweenthe SyncCLIENT 510 watched local FileSystem 515 and the Cloud FileSystem520.

As may be generally appreciated by those skilled in the art, work itemsare generally those operations that are performed by the WORKERS toeffect FSChanges. More particularly, a particular work item willgenerally identify an object to which it applies (i.e., a filename), adirection (i.e., download/upload), and an operation such as create,rename, delete, move and modify.

As depicted in this FIG. 5, the SNAPSHOT 560, is locked when anychanges/updates are made to the SNAPSHOT 560 by WORKER(s) 590. Suchlocking ensures that the SNAPSHOT 560 does not change during updatingand ensures coherence.

As shall be shown and described in more detail, FETCHER 550 generallyserializes the flow of work items before subsequent parallel processingby WORKERS 590. In that regard and as we will describe in later detaillater, FETCHER acts as a manager/lock that ensures that no two workersoperate on conflicting and/or overlapping changes.

As may be appreciated by those skilled in the art, there exist a numberof different operating systems on which exemplary SyncCLIENT 510software may execute. Well known examples of such operating systemsinclude, but not limited to, Microsoft WINDOWS, OS/X, and LINUX. As aresult of the capabilities of such operating systems, WORKER(s) 590 maybe implemented as multiple threads. Consequently, multiple WORKERS mayoperate simultaneously on multiple-processor or multiple-core computingsystems or operate concurrently on uniprocessor computing systems. As aresult, multiple WORKERS may be operating on a given work itemconcurrently with one another thereby enhancing the performance ofsharing and synching operations.

Different operating systems such as those enumerated above providedifferent levels of detail with respect to changes that may occur withinfilesystems resident in such systems. For example, UNIX derivatives suchas OS/X and LINUX provide folder level change notifications whileMicrosoft WINDOWS provides a more detailed, file level changenotification. More specifically, OS/X provides information about changesmade to folders, while Microsoft WINDOWS provides information aboutchanges made to individual folders. Consequently at least two differentLocal WATCHER(s) are depicted in FIG. 5, namely Local WATCHER (Type-2)530 and Local WATCHER (Type-1) 531. As further depicted in FIG. 5, LocalWATCHER (Type-2) provides Folder-Level Change Notifications 531 whileLocal WATCHER (Type-1) 535 provides File-Level Change Notifications 536.

More particularly, Microsoft WINDOWS provides a ReadDirectoryChangesWApplication Programming Interface (API) that provides notice of, forexample, CHANGE_FILE_NAME—Any file name change in the watched folder(directory) or subtree; CHANGE_DIR_NAME—Any directory-name change in thewatched directory or subtree; CHANGE_ATTRIBUTES—Any attribute change inthe watched directory; CHANGE_SIZE—Any file-size change in the watcheddirectory or subtree when file is written; CHANGE_LAST_ACCESS—Any changeto the last access time of file(s) in the watched directory or subtree;CHANGE_CREATION—Any change to the creation time of files in the watcheddirectory or subtree; and CHANGE_SECURITY—Any security-descriptor changein the watched directory or subtree; to SyncCLIENT software accessingthat API.

Since OS/X does not provide this File-Level change notification, a localgraph 532 is used by Local WATCHER (Type-2) 530 to track the state ofthe watched local FileSystem 515. Similarly, and according to an aspectof the present disclosure, the Cloud WATCHER 540 uses a cloud graph 541to track the state of the watched Cloud Filesystem 520.

Finally, we note at this point that while FIG. 5 depicts both a LocalWATCHER (Type-2) 530 and Local WATCHER (Type-1) 535 as component partsof SyncCLIENT 510, a particular instantiation of a SyncCLIENTadvantageously does not require both.

With reference now to FIG. 5a , there is shown a schematic block diagramdepicting a sequence of events associated with the saving of anelectronically stored file, “N”, and the operation of the Local WATCHER535 and the EVENT AGGREGATOR 561. As those skilled in the art willrecognize, such a sequence may accompany the operation of any of anumber of popular application programs or suites of programs.

More particularly, the general sequence of events associated with thesepopular application programs or suites of programs, while saving anelectronically stored file, “N” is to:

1) Create a Temporary File “N+1”;

2) Delete File “N”;

3) Move Temporary File “N+1” to “N”.

Accordingly, during SyncCLIENT operation the watched local file system515 will exhibit the above sequence of events which will be detected bythe Local WATCHER 535. If this sequence were to be forwarded by theLocal WATCHER 535 to the FETCHER (not specifically shown), then a numberof unnecessary steps would be performed which would possibly negativelyaffect performance of the system. To preserve performance and avoidunnecessary/redundant steps and according to another aspect of thepresent disclosure, an exemplary SyncCLIENT includes an EVENT AGGREGATOR561.

As noted previously, the EVENT AGGREGATOR 561 generally will receivechange notifications from the Local WATCHER and “hold” onto thosenotifications for some period of time. If during the hold periodmultiple changes are made to any related item(s) the EVENT AGGREGATOR561 will advantageously combine or otherwise modify those changes intohigher-level, more coherent events which are then sent by the EVENTAGGREGATOR 561 to the FETCHER.

With continued reference to FIG. 5a , the EVENT AGGREGATOR 561 isdepicted as receiving the above sequence of events namely, 1) CreateTemp File N+1; 2) Delete File N; and 3) Move Temp File N+1 to N. Asdepicted in FIG. 5a , the EVENT AGGREGATOR 561 holds andaggregates/combines that sequence into a single work item namely:“Modify(N->N+1)”;which is subsequently forwarded to FETCHER for processing.

FIG. 5b is a schematic diagram depicting an overview of EVENT AGGREGATOR561 processing according to an aspect of the present disclosure. Asdepicted in that FIG. 5b Change Events that are detected in the WatchedLocal FileSystem 515 by the Local WATCHER 535 are sent to EVENTAGGREGATOR 561 where they are placed into a Change Event Queue.

Prior to their insertion into the Change Event Queue, a received ChangeEvent is checked to see whether or not it may be combined with a ChangeEvent already in the Change Event Queue. If so, the received ChangeEvent is combined with the Change Event in the Change Event Queue andthe combined Change Event is reinserted into the Change Event Queue. Ifthe received Change Event cannot be combined with a Change Event alreadyin the Change Event Queue, then the received Change Event is insertedinto the Change Event Queue, uncombined.

Periodically, the Change Event Queue is examined and any Change Eventthat has been in the Change Event Queue for a predetermined period oftime is dispatched to the FETCHER (not specifically shown) forprocessing.

FIG. 5c is a flow diagram depicting a general operational overview ofthe EVENT AGGREGATOR 561 according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure. With reference to that FIG. 5c , it is noted that at block562 the EVENT AGGREGATOR 561 receives a change event from a LocalWATCHER. Upon receipt of the change event, at block 563, the EVENTAGGREGATOR will examine the received change event to determine whetherit is combinable with another received change event already insertedinto a Change Event Queue.

If the received change event is combinable with a change event alreadyin the Change Event Queue, it is combined with the queued change eventat block 564 and the combined change event is enqueued in the ChangeEvent Queue at block 565.

If the received change event is not combinable with a queued changeevent at block 564, then the received change event is enqueued into theChange Event Queue at block 565, uncombined.

Periodically, at block 566, the Change Event Queue is examined todetermine whether any queued change events have been in the Change EventQueue for a period of time greater than some predetermined period. Ifso, then that change event is dequeued and sent to the fetcher forprocessing at block 567.

Notably, and according to another aspect of the present disclosure, theEVENT AGGREGATOR 561 may combine received events with events already inthe Event Queue based on known/learned patterns that are recognizable.More particularly, the EVENT AGGREGATOR may recognize particular eventcombinations from known patterns of received change sequences, observedfile types, detected executable programs, executing processes etc., andfrom these data determine the particular changes being observed and usethis information to make combinations.

Turning now to FIG. 6, there is shown a schematic block diagramdepicting the operation of a Cloud WATCHER 640 and Local WATCHER(Type-2) 630 on a representative SyncCLIENT 610 according to an aspectof the present disclosure. As depicted in FIG. 6, Cloud WATCHER 640generates a Cloud Graph 642 which is indicative of the current state ofthe watched Cloud FileSystem 680. After generating the Cloud Graph 642,the Cloud WATCHER 640 periodically generates a Current Cloud Staterepresentation 644 and then determines any differences between the two.Upon detecting a difference between the Cloud Graph 642 and the CurrentCloud State representation 644, the Cloud WATCHER 640 generates anFSChange (File System Change Notification) and sends that FSChange tothe FETCHER (not specifically shown). As previously noted with respectto the discussion of FIG. 5, the FSChange notifications are used by theFETCHER to generate Work Items to be sent to WORKERS (not specificallyshown).

In a preferred embodiment, the Current Cloud State representation 644may be represented by an ordered list of changes made to objects withinCloud FileSystem as reported to the SyncCLIENT. The Cloud Graph 642 maybe preferably represented as a dictionary structure that includes aResourceID key wherein dictionary entries include—in addition to theResourceID—any filename(s), checksum(s), and timestamp(s).

Similarly, Local WATCHER (Type-2) 630 monitors Watched Local FileSystem615 via—for example—and FSEvents API which provides folder-level changenotifications. Upon receipt of any folder-level change notifications,Local WATCHER (Type-2) 630 generates a Current Local Staterepresentation 634 which is indicative of the current state of theWatched Local FileSystem 615. The Local WATCHER (Type-2) 630 comparesthe Current Local State representation 634 with a previously generated,Local Graph 632 and determines any differences between the two. Upondetecting a difference between the Current Local State representation634 and the Local Graph 632, the Local WATCHER 630 generates an FSChangeand sends that FSChange to the EVENT AGGREGATOR (not specificallyshown). As previously described with respect to FIG. 5a and FIG. 5b ,The EVENT AGGREGATOR holds onto changes for a period of time and ifmultiple changes to related items or particular known patterns aredetected, then the EVENT AGGREGATOR may combine or otherwise modifythose received FSChange events into higher level, coherent events whichare then sent to the FETCHER as Work Items to be performed.

FIG. 6a is a schematic block diagram depicting the receipt and update ofthe current cloud state 644. As depicted in that FIG. 6a , the currentcloud state 644 may be determined from a Change LOG 646 which isreceived by the SyncCLIENT 610 from the Cloud. In an exemplaryembodiment, a Change LOG 646 such as that depicted in FIG. 6a includesan ordered list of changes made to the Cloud File System 680 that isrelevant to the particular SyncCLIENT 610 and/or a particular account.

Advantageously, and according to an aspect of the present disclosure,the ordered list of changes made to the Cloud File System 680 includedin the Change LOG 646 is already aggregated upon receipt by theSyncCLIENT 610. Consequently, the ordered list of changes received fromthe Cloud File System via the Change LOG 646 does not require furtheraggregation as do the changes observed by the Local WATCHERs describedpreviously.

In a particular exemplary embodiment, the Change LOG 646 includes, for aparticular account, a number of entries including an indication of thecurrent state of an item; whether an item has been moved to trash; andwhether an item has been deleted from the trash. Note that thisexemplary listing of entries included in the Change LOG is meant to berepresentative, and not exhaustive. Consequently, additional entriesindicative of an item's status may be provided via the Change LOG. Asmay be appreciated by those skilled in the art, these entries in theChange LOG may be used by the Cloud WATCHER to generate FSChange eventsthat will be forwarded to the FETCHER.

Turning now to FIG. 7, there is shown a schematic block diagramdepicting the generation of Work Items and subsequent processing ofthose Work Items by representative SyncCLIENT 710 according to an aspectof the present disclosure. As depicted therein and previously described,one or more FSChange events are sent from Cloud WATCHER 740 or EVENTAGGREGATOR 735 to the FETCHER 720 as Work Items where they are placedinto an ordered Work Queue 726.

More particularly, upon receipt of Work Items 725, FETCHER 720 arrangesthe received Work Items 725 such that they are performed in a prescribedorder. More specifically, Work Items 725[1] . . . 725[n] are enteredinto a Work Queue 726 ordered from Oldest to Newest. In this regard, theFETCHER 720, through the effect of the Work Queue 726, serializes theWork Items 725[1] . . . 725[n] before distributing those Work Items toWorkers 750[1] . . . 750[n] for concurrent processing.

At this point we note again that while we have described the processingof Work Items by WORKERS 750[1] . . . 750 [n] as being performedconcurrently, in a multiple-processor or multiple-core (multiprocessoror multicore) processing arrangement that is possible in contemporarycomputing systems, the actual processing of multiple Work Items bymultiple WORKERS 750[1] . . . 750[n] may advantageously proceed inparallel wherein each Worker thread may be executed by an individualprocessor or core. Accordingly, significant sharing and synchronizationthroughput is achieved by this multiple WORKER arrangement when operatedconcurrently or in parallel. Similar performance benefits areadvantageously realized as a result of the Cloud WATCHER 740 and LocalWATCHER 730 operating concurrently or in parallel, depending upon theparticular computing system hardware and system software employed bySyncCLIENT 710.

With reference now to FIG. 8, there is shown a schematic block diagram800 depicting the serialization of Work Items 825[1] . . . 825[n] byFETCHER 820. As depicted therein, incoming Work Items 825[1] . . .825[n] are arranged in a Work Queue 826 in Oldest to Newest order.

Operationally, FETCHER 820 examines each of the Work Items in Work Queue826 and determines whether it is processable (or not) by WORKERS 850[1]. . . 850[n]. In this exemplary embodiment depicted in FIG. 8, theFETCHER 820 sequentially examines Work Items 825[1] . . . 825[n] in theWork Queue 826, starting at the oldest and proceeding to the newest, todetermine what dependencies—if any—are exhibited by the particular WorkItem under examination. If an examined Work Item 825[1] . . . 825[n] inthe Work Queue 826 is affected by any entries in the Dependency Map 890,then it is determined to be unprocessable at that time.

As depicted in FIG. 8, the Dependency Map 890 includes a list ofstructures that may be affected by operations being performed by any ofthe plurality of workers 850[1] . . . 850[n] at a given time. DependencyMap 890 entries of particular significance depicted in FIG. 8 are:inodes 891, resource ID(s) 892, and Filenames, etc., 893. Additionaldependencies not specifically shown in FIG. 8 include Filenames ofparents, children and cousin objects.

Those skilled in the art will readily recall that an inode is a datastructure used by contemporary operating systems to store informationabout a file(s), directory(ies), or other file system object(s). Inodesstore information about files and directories (folders) such asownership, mode, and type. Files are associated with a particular inode,which is identified by an integer number (inode number).

Similarly, a resourceID is an identifier that uniquely identifies Cloudobjects, for example, files. Accordingly, such a resourceID woulduniquely identify a particular file stored within the Cloud filesystem.

Finally, filenames are generally metadata about a file. Frequentlyfilenames are strings used to identify (preferably—uniquely) the fileelectronically stored in a filesystem. Oftentimes, filenames includeadditional components namely a path associated with the file, a nameassociated with the file, a type associated with the file, and a versionassociated with the file.

Advantageously, and according to an aspect of the present disclosure,the FETCHER 820 maintains the Dependancy Map 890 which identifiesdependencies that are currently impacted by Work Items being acted on byany of the Workers 850[1] . . . 850[n]. Accordingly, as the FETCHER 820examines Work Items 825[1] . . . 825[n] in the Work Queue 826 itcompares dependencies affected by the Work Item being examined with anydependencies in the Dependency Map 890. If any such dependenciesaffected by the examined Work Item are in Dependency Map 890, then thatWork Item is skipped and the FETCHER 820 examines the next Work Item inthe Work Queue 826.

Notably, the ordering of Work Items 825[1] . . . 825[n] is preferablymaintained even if a particular Work Item is skipped. Accordingly, theWork Queue 826 within FETCHER 820 will always be in Oldest to NewestOrder.

If a particular Work Item is determined to be processable, that is tosay its affected dependencies are not in the Dependency Map 890, thenthat Work Item is passed on to a WORKER 850[1] . . . 850[n] forprocessing.

Each time a Work Item is passed on to a WORKER for processing, anyaffected dependencies are indicated in the Dependency Map 890.Conversely, each time that a WORKER finishes with a Work Item it updatesthe Dependency Map 890 to indicate that it is no longer working on thatparticular set of dependencies.

Whenever a WORKER finishes with a particular Work Item, FETCHER 820re-examines the Work Queue 820 starting from the Oldest Work Item 825[1]in the Work Queue 820, scanning to the Newest Work Item 825[n] in theWork Queue 826.

As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, Work Items in WorkQueue 826 that were previously skipped (due to dependency conflict forexample) will be rescanned and processed if such a determination is madeby FETCHER 820. Of further advantage, since FETCHER 820 ensures that notwo Work Items sent to WORKERS have dependency conflicts, there is noneed for locks and a high degree of concurrency and/or parallelism isachieved in the WORKER operations.

FIG. 9 shows an illustrative computer system 900 suitable forimplementing methods and systems according to an aspect of the presentdisclosure. The computer system may comprise, for example a computerrunning any of a number of operating systems. The above-describedmethods of the present disclosure may be implemented on the computersystem 900 as stored program control instructions.

Computer system 900 includes processor 910, memory 920, storage device930, and input/output structure 940. One or more input/output devicesmay include a display 945. One or more busses 950 typically interconnectthe components, 910, 920, 930, and 940. Processor 910 may be a single ormulti core.

Processor 910 executes instructions in which embodiments of the presentdisclosure may comprise steps described in one or more of the Figures.Such instructions may be stored in memory 920 or storage device 930.Data and/or information may be received and output using one or moreinput/output devices.

Memory 920 may store data and may be a computer-readable medium, such asvolatile or non-volatile memory. Storage device 930 may provide storagefor system 900 including for example, the previously described methods.In various aspects, storage device 930 may be a flash memory device, adisk drive, an optical disk device, or a tape device employing magnetic,optical, or other recording technologies.

Input/output structures 940 may provide input/output operations forsystem 900. Input/output devices utilizing these structures may include,for example, keyboards, displays 945, pointing devices, andmicrophones—among others. As shown and may be readily appreciated bythose skilled in the art, computer system 900 for use with the presentdisclosure may be implemented in a desktop computer package 960, alaptop computer 970, a hand-held computer, for example a tabletcomputer, personal digital assistant or Smartphone 980, or one or moreserver computers which may advantageously comprise a “cloud” computer990.

At this point, while we have presented this disclosure using somespecific examples, those skilled in the art will recognize that ourteachings are not so limited. Accordingly, this disclosure should beonly limited by the scope of the claims attached hereto.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A computer implemented method oftransferring files and providing access to files stored in a cloudcomprising the steps of: detecting at a client computer system arelevant change made to a file residing in a cloud file system;determining by the client computer system whether the file originatedvia cloud computing services, wherein the file originated via cloudcomputing services when the file was not obtained or derived fromcontent stored on the client computer system; determining whether thefile has a file type that is associated with a cloud application; if thefile originated via cloud computing services and was not obtained orderived from the client computer system, and if the file has a file typethat is associated with a cloud application, then storing in the clientcomputer's local file system a linking file comprising a link to thefile residing in the cloud file system and not storing a copy of thefile residing in the cloud system in the client computer's local filesystem; wherein the linking file appears as a file having a file typethat is associated with said cloud application; and wherein the linkwithin the linking file operates such that attempting to open saidlinking file causes the file residing in the cloud file system to beopened by said cloud application from the cloud file system; andotherwise, storing in a local file system of the client computer systema copy of the file residing in the cloud file system.
 2. The computerimplemented method of claim 1 wherein the link comprises a uniformresource locator (URL) and is usable by a browser to access the fileresiding in the cloud file system, and wherein the linking file does notinclude the contents of the file residing in the cloud file system. 3.The computer implemented method of claim 1 wherein the link comprises aresourceID of the file electronically stored in the cloud file system,wherein the resourceID uniquely identifies the file residing in thecloud file system.
 4. The computer implemented method of claim 3 whereinsaid file residing in the cloud file system exhibits a type selectedfrom the group consisting of: documents, spreadsheets, presentations,drawings, forms and cloud sites.
 5. The computer implemented method ofclaim 4 wherein said cloud computing services include applicationsselected from the group consisting of: word processing, spreadsheet,graphics, and calendar.
 6. The computer implemented method of claim 1,wherein the file type is associated with a file extension .gdoc.
 7. Thecomputer implemented method of claim 1, wherein if the file did notoriginate via cloud computing services, the file was obtained or derivedfrom the client computer system and was uploaded to the cloud filesystem via a drag-and-drop operation performed on the client computersystem.
 8. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the filetype that is associated with said cloud application is indicative thatthe file originated via cloud computing services and was not obtained orderived from the client computer system.
 9. The computer implementedmethod of claim 1, wherein when the file residing in the cloud filesystem is opened by said cloud application from the cloud file system,the file is not downloaded to the client computer system.
 10. A systemfor transferring files and providing access to files electronicallystored in a cloud storage system comprising a client computer systemincluding a processor and a memory coupled to said processor said memoryhaving stored thereon computer executable instructions that uponexecution by the processor cause the system to: detect a relevant changemade to a first file residing in a cloud file system; determine whetherthe first file originated via cloud computing services, wherein the fileoriginated via cloud computing services when the file was not obtainedor derived from content stored on the client computer system; determinewhether the first file has a file type that is associated with a cloudapplication; if the first file originated via cloud computing servicesand was not obtained or derived from the client computer system, and ifthe first file has a file type that is associated with a cloudapplication, then store in the client computer's local file system alinking file comprising a link to the first file, wherein the linkingfile appears as a second file having a file type that is associated withsaid cloud application and the link within the linking file operatessuch that attempting to open said linking file causes the first file tobe opened by said cloud application from the cloud file system;otherwise store a copy of the first file to the client computer system.11. The system of claim 10 wherein the link comprises a uniform resourcelocator (URL) and is usable by a browser to access the first fileresiding in the cloud file system, and wherein the linking file does notinclude the contents of the first file residing in the cloud filesystem.
 12. The system of claim 10 wherein the link comprises aresourceID of the first file, wherein the resourceID uniquely identifiesthe first file residing in the cloud file system.
 13. The system ofclaim 12 wherein said first file exhibits a type selected from the groupconsisting of: documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, formsand cloud sites.
 14. The system of claim 13 wherein said cloud computingservices include applications selected from the group consisting of:word processing, spreadsheet, graphics, calendar, and cloud siteapplications.
 15. The system of claim 10 wherein said first fileexhibits a type indicative of generation by a third-party application inconjunction with cloud computing services, and is indicative that thefirst file was not obtained or derived from content stored on the clientfile system.
 16. The system of claim 10, wherein the file type isassociated with a file extension .gdoc.
 17. The system of claim 10,wherein if the first file did not originate via cloud computingservices, the first file was obtained or derived from the clientcomputer system and was uploaded to the cloud file system via adrag-and-drop operation performed on the client computer system.
 18. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein when the first file residing in the cloudfile system is opened by said cloud application from the cloud filesystem, the first file is not downloaded to the client computer system.